RESIDENTS fighting a housing development near their homes in Ebbw Vale have the chance to view the plans next week.

Redrow Homes are planning to build their Debut range on the Old 45 Yard site, near the Dingle.

Plans to build 117 one and two-bedroomed homes will go on show at Ebbw Vale Rugby Club on Thursday, December 1 (4-7.30pm).

The company's first Debut scheme, in Rugby, Warwickshire, has won national and regional awards.

The development would include 74 one-bedroom Debut homes and 43 two-bedroom designs, starting at £49,950 for a single storey one-bedroom home.

Any buy-to-let investors will be excluded from buying the homes, which are aimed at first-time buyers.

Glyn Mabey, managing director of Redrow Homes South Wales, said: "Our experience at Rugby and again at Chorley, in Lancashire, has shown that there is greatest demand for the most affordable one-bedroom properties, so our proposed scheme is weighted in this direction.

"In addition to first time buyers we have seen high demand from single persons and those trading down to seek a more manageable home."

However, residents living nearby have reacted angrily to the development which, they claim, will not be in keeping with the regeneration of the Corus site.

The exhibition will feature plans, photographs and a DVD documentary filmed during construction of 103 Debut homes in Rugby.

The Debut homes are constructed using a lightweight steel frame and other modern methods of construction, which speeds up the build programme without compromising on quality, say the company.